A promising opportunity to continue one’s career in SaaS consultancy and to lift to it to a truly international level
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
- Extensive onboarding programme,
- Consistency, stability and intuitive nature of the software,
- Open discussion culture,
- Flexible mode of work,
- Overall positive ambience across the teams,
- Diverse customer portfolio,
- Stable work-life balance,
- Opportunities to participate in company initiatives
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
See the suggestions for improvement
Verbesserungsvorschläge
- Consistent growth of the local Services team in order to handle the increasing pipeline of acquired customers in a sustainable fashion,
- An onboarding programme tailored to the needs in EMEA (with a prospective distinction between the regions, e.g. Central Europe vs. Northern Europe),
- Inclusion of supportive, cross-sectional forms of cooperation prior to or after an implementation (e.g. between the Marketing and Sales Teams and the Services Team)
- A clearer communication in case of a turnover or a longer sick leave on the part of a colleague to develop an alternative
Arbeitsatmosphäre
On a purely internal level, the ambience within the Central European unit is calm and vibrant thanks to the presence of colleagues of various backgrounds, who are ambitious, willing to help and open to exchange information.
In combination with the EMEA office in London, with whom the cooperation is intertwined, the ambience gains an additional, international touch reflecting an Anglo-American spirit. Furthermore, the corporate guiding principles are founded on the values of mutual respect, teamwork, thirst of knowledge, constant improvement etc.
At the end of the day, this type of culture is a matter of the individual preference, which is touched during the interview process. Cosmopolitans should be able to adapt swiftly and flexibly.
Kommunikation
Due to the joint cooperation with the EMEA office in London and the North American unit, English is the daily lingua franca. On the Central European level, German is predominantly spoken. Depending on whether the colleagues in question are present in the office or working remotely, either a direct conversation or a quick chat via Slack are possible to clarify any functional or technical questions. Besides, plenty of separate time slots enable the occasion to discuss them in a broader group.
Organisational matters are touched in two ways: firstly, through weekly meetings on the entire EMEA level, whose agenda includes the revision of both the regional and North American state of affairs and
secondly via weekly meetings taking place within the Central European unit only.
In both cases, the key decisions and insights are being shared by email and/or Slack.
However, one point worth improving would be a more profound communication of certain decisions, especially in case of a turnover or a colleague being on a longer sick leave. This would facilitate the design of an intermediate or permanent solution to avoid surprises while dealing with clients.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
The team spirit within and across the local and functional teams is healthy and dynamic thanks to a collective attitude, mutual helpfulness and the readiness to exchange knowledge. Depending on the place, a discussion is possible within minutes either directly in the office or via Slack.
Moreover, it is worth noting that the fluctuation across all teams is extraordinarily low, which counters some prejudice that some might have while thinking of a typically American company.
Work-Life-Balance
Another strength of Highspot’s is the explicit emphasis on accomplishing and maintaining a sensible balance between the professional and private life in accordance with the aforementioned guiding principles. With this in mind, an open dialogue with the supervisor is crucial in order to have the future capacities assessed in a realistic manner.
From my personal experience, I managed to handle the workload excellently in spite of “juggling” several customer projects at the same time. The applied implementation methodology is another key contributor, which highlights the differentiation of duties between the Service Team member and the customer.
Thus, individuals with a structured style of work, who are additionally versed in implementing projects, should be able to connect quickly with the prevalent mode.
Moreover, a flexible mode of work is supported - be it a mix of remote working with a presence in the office or a purely remote approach.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
Just as the employees, the supervisors are abiding by the guiding principles, which I outlined in an earlier section, in order to set a leading example.
I observed this commitment regardless of whether I was dealing with the direct supervisor of mine or a representative of the C-level.
Interessante Aufgaben
The scope of responsibilities as a Services Team member is varied thanks to the following aspects:
- The regional team is about to gain more autarchy, which is providing additional opportunities to make a difference (e.g. by participating in the interview process, mentoring new hires etc.),
- A diversified customer portfolio, meaning that the implementation itself is positively challenging from customer to customer due to varying requirements. The corresponding experiences gained from each project result in synergies from numerous nuggets of knowledge to create and transfer valuable findings to the clients.
- A flexible methodology of implementing projects instead of an execution by the numbers,
- Regular occasions to commit oneself to an internal initiative to build knowledge on a specific process, resulting in a new set of valuable best practices distributed across the entire team
All in all, this versatile combination of tasks strengthens one’s role as a brand ambassador to boost Highspot’s image across the region - to my personal satisfaction.
Gleichberechtigung
Speaking of the local Services team, along with the intertwined team in London, the crew is diverse in this respect, be it either in terms of cultural heritage, gender or sexual orientation, which reflects the company’s inclusive culture.
An open discussion culture is actively fostered.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
My perception regarding this aspect is neutral to positive, because the vast majority of colleagues with whom I interact is fairly young, whereas representatives on the C-level are belonging to a more advanced generation.
Regardless of that, a respectful treatment has always been demonstrated during conversations, at least in my experience.
Arbeitsbedingungen
The working conditions are fitting my needs optimally in the following respects:
- The mode of work is flexible (see the section “Work-Life Balance” above),
- The equipment provided by Apple is state-of-the-art. New joiners are allowed to purchase additional devices for professional purposes, whereas the spent amount can be reimbursed within pre-defined limits.
- The Munich office is situated in the city centre, making it an attractive location. Furthermore, the office management is active and proactive, meaning that regular feedback is desired with the goal of steadily optimising the experience (e.g. via a weekly breakfast and lunch, furniture etc.).
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
When it comes to social awareness, the aspects of creating an environment fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are especially stressed and anchored in the company’s policy, which is unprecedented compared to the earlier stages of my career. Corresponding councils have been created for this purpose.
Speaking of the individual wellbeing, Highspot is offering a separate “Wellness” platform to analyse the potentials for improvement (e.g. mental, physical, financial, social health) in order to let one suggest a tailored plan.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
In the case of my activity in the field of software implementation consultancy, the offered package has significantly surpassed the conditions at my previous employers regarding the salary and the granted amount of holidays. Another offered benefit consists in stock options as a complementary part of the compensation.
Other common benefits are certainly negotiable, although I cannot personally verify them.
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Unlike the North American and the Northern European region, Highspot is finding itself in the middle of a consistent growth process in Central Europe with the ambition of attaining the status of a scale-up. Therefore, accounts of various sizes have been attracted (predominantly SMEs) to generate the vital critical mass, which is already including some key corporations of the German economy. In other words, there is still potential to be leveraged in order to penetrate the DACH region successfully and sustainably, especially in light of the fact that the field of sales enablement is still understood as a niche that is less known than in the Anglo-American region.
In terms of the product itself, the platform is widely appreciated for its compact nature and intuitive, easy-to-understand handling across the modules. Furthermore, the solution is praised for its wide range of integrations with applications of other categories (web conferencing, learning management systems, CRMs, cloud storage, messaging etc.), which makes it responsive and flexible to the various workflows that the end users are following.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
In terms of the career path, transparency is guaranteed, as the characteristics of each position are accessible and well-documented, including the pre-requisites to be met in order come closer to a promotion. Additionally, a plan for the every year is devised and discussed with the supervisor, followed up by a periodical review.
Other than that, an extensive onboarding experience is provided to new joiners regardless of their level of expertise in terms of the product and/or the utilised methodology. Even though it is predominantly designed to equip the North American colleagues with a granular level of detail, it is about to be complemented by a European equivalent to suit a more flexible approach.
After the onboarding experience, the LinkedIn Learning platform serves as another useful tool to expand on the current skill-set, depending on one’s preference. In addition, the internal Highspot platform serves as another source of knowledge.
Incidentally, re-training programmes complete the entire range. Some colleagues from the Central European team have already managed such a transition to another position thanks to their convincing track record.